Building control systems are employed to regulate and/or control various environmental and safety aspects of commercial, industrial and residential facilities (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “buildings”). Many buildings today include building automation/control systems that automatically control certain building functions such as HVAC, elevator operation, lighting, heating, alarm systems, security devices, sprinkler systems and the like. These systems are typically computer or processor based and controlled through firmware or software. In ordinary single-family residences, control systems tend to be simple and largely unintegrated. However, in large buildings, building control systems often consist of multiple, integrated subsystems employing hundreds of elements.
For example, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (“HVAC”) building control system interrelates small, local control loops with larger control loops to coordinate the delivery of heat, vented air, and chilled air to various locations throughout a large building. Local control systems may use local room temperature readings to open or close vents that supply heated or chilled air. Larger control loops may obtain many temperature readings and/or air flow readings to control the speed of a ventilation fan, or control the operation of heating or chilling equipment.
As a consequence of the interrelationship of these control loops, many elements of a building control system must communicate information to each other. To this end, communication networks have been incorporated that transmit digital data between and among the various elements in accordance with one or more sets of protocols. By way of example, one or more local area networks using Ethernet or other standard protocols are often used to effect communication between elements and subsystems.
To this end, building control systems typically have one or more centralized control stations in which data from the system may be monitored, and in which various aspects of system operation may be executed, controlled and/or monitored. The control station typically includes a computer having processing equipment, data storage equipment, and a user interface. To allow for monitoring and control of the dispersed control system elements, building control systems often employ multi-level communication networks to communicate operational and/or alarm information between operating elements, such as sensors and actuators, and the centralized control station.
One example of a building control system control station is the APOGEE INSIGHT Workstation, available from Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Ill., which may be used with the APOGEE building control system, also available from Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. In the APOGEE system, several control stations, connected via an Ethernet or other type of network, may be distributed throughout one or more building locations, each having the ability to monitor and control system operation at various system levels. As a consequence, different people in different locations of the facility may monitor and control building operations.
The typical building control system (including those utilizing the APOGEE INSIGHT Workstation) has a plurality of field panels that are in communication with one of the workstations. Additionally, the building control system includes one or more field devices in communication with the field panels. Each field device is operative to typically measure and/or monitor various building control system parameters, but may also provide active control.
While the workstation is generally used to make modifications and/or changes to one or more of the various components of the building control system, a field panel may also be operative to allow certain modifications and/or changes to one or more parameters of the system. This typically includes parameters such as temperature and otherwise, set point changes, modify a control program or the like.
As system components/devices fail or require upgrading, it is often desirable or necessary to replace a device of a certain type with a device of a different and/or third party type. Often, the device being replaced has been improved through increased functionality. It is also often desirable to increase the functionality of a building system by adding new devices or subsystems. Devices serving identical or similar functions may often communicate using different protocols and/or commands. Such devices are coupled to the system through devices having firmware to facilitate communication between the device and the building system. Thus, when a new device is added to a building system, it is necessary to alter the appropriate firmware in order to facilitate communication between the building management (control) system and the new device on the system.
A drawback to the current state of building automation systems, however, is the difficulty in integrating new hardware devices into the existing building system or integrating a third party subsystem with the existing building control system. Often, building automation/control systems are designed to use proprietary devices and cooperate readily only with other proprietary systems. Such systems are not easily adapted to integration with third party hardware devices.
The integration of new hardware devices into existing building automation systems can be complicated, especially when the new hardware device is from a third party manufacturer or when the new proprietary hardware device incorporates different functionalities. A large building may have hundreds of sensors, room controllers, and actuation devices. All of these elements must be interconnected in some manner so that both local and overall control operations may be carried out. Firmware or software applications for the operation of the system (applications) may require updating of one or more drivers in order to facilitate communication of the system with the device through the device driver.
As is known in the art, a driver is a program that controls a device. Every device, be it a printer, disk drive, or keyboard, must have a driver program. Many drivers, such as keyboard drivers come with the operating system. For other devices, it may be necessary to load a new driver into the system when the device is connected to a computer system. In DOS systems, drivers are files with a “.sys” extension. In Windows environments, drivers often have a “.drv” extension. Other designations or no particular designations may also be associated with a driver.
A driver acts like a translator between the device and programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver knows. In contrast, most programs access devices using generic commands. The driver, therefore, accepts generic commands from a program and then translates them into specialized commands for the device.
Currently, applications for a building system environment are created by an application engineer. The application is then installed into the system. These application engineers are typically located at a remote location (referred to as Home Office) from the location (referred to as “Branch” or “Field”) at which the building control system is installed. Typically, once an application engineer at Home Office has generated the appropriate applications and an ISB file, the ISB file is sent to the branch to flash the driver with the additional application(s).
In view of the above, there is a need for a building control system that reduces the time required to integrate a new building control device into the building control system. Moreover, in view of the above, there is a need for a building control system that allows easy integration of a new building control device into the existing building control system.
In view of the above, there is a further need for a building control system that reduces the time necessary to create an integration database and/or application for a new building control system device or hardware in a building control system. Moreover, in view of the above, there is a need for a building control system that easily incorporates new hardware into a building control system via creation of an integration database and/or application for the new hardware.
In view of the above, there is a need for a building control system that provides a new Application Builder that allows field personnel to generate an integration database and/or applications for new devices being installed to the building control system.